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Sunday, November 15, 2015

What a tangled web of emotions you weave. Democracy and hope was restored and our country sighed in collective relief. A portrait of my beautiful country was captured in a Cabinet rich in diversity and representation. Pride restored.

I celebrated the births of my first and second born; babies morphed into strong warrior women in their thirties. Wonderment and disbelief and the greatest love I've known.

And in between, we remembered lest we forget. And just as we pulled the poppies from our collars, Paris exploded. Terror reigned and horror flashed relentlessly across our televisions. The crisis in Syria fell of the radar. Racism rose to high tide as fear fueled mistrust of immigrants and refugees.

Are we like CNN - capable of only singular focus? Can our hearts and minds not expand to meet the great humanitarian need? I hear people say that our Prime Minister's first duty is to Canadians. I disagree. We are citizens of the world; one people. When our brothers and sisters suffer; so do we all suffer. Let's not talk of closing doors on people trying to escape the horrors of war, seeking refuge. Let's keep welcoming, open hearts. Islam didn't commit these crimes; extremist criminals did.

And in and around all of this, my dear brother-in-law buried his brother and my aunt fought the good fight to transition to a new life. She is a survivor and reminds me not to take my health and family for granted.

My kids didn't like it, but I always reminded them to say good bye as though it was the last time they would do so; not to leave anything unsaid, because one day, it would be just that -- the last time.